“We’ll bring the others,” he promised.
“Thanks.” Daisy put Toadkit down and he bounced away, fluffing up his fur.
“Watch out!” Daisy shut her eyes as he careered straight toward Graystripe.
The gray warrior sidestepped him. “Why don’t you go make sure there’s enough moss in Millie’s nest, little one?” he meowed.
“Okay!” Toadkit raced away to the nursery.
Graystripe blinked at Daisy. “He’s obviously not too shaken.”
Daisy’s pale eyes darkened. “He just thinks it’s an adventure.” She sighed.
“Perhaps it’s better that he does.” Graystripe took Briarkit from Millie and followed Daisy to the nursery. Millie padded beside him, pressing her pelt to his.
Lionpaw was already bounding up the rocks. Hollypaw scrambled wearily after him and followed him into Firestar’s den.
It was dark inside. Hollypaw almost tripped over Rosekit, crouched in the entrance. Behind her, Longtail was trying to hush Bumblekit. The tiny gray-and-black-striped tom was wailing for his mother.
Longtail ran his tail gently over him. “Shh, you’ll wake your sister.”
Hollypaw could just make out Blossomkit curled against Mousefur’s belly, sound asleep.
“Don’t disturb her.” Mousefur waved Hollypaw away with her tail. “Graystripe can fetch her down later.”
Longtail nudged Hollypaw’s shoulder with his nose. His blind eyes were round with worry. “Did you see it happen?”
He meant the vanishing sun.
“Yes.”
“What does Jaypaw say?” Mousefur asked, her eyes gleaming in the half-light.
Lionpaw shrugged. “He doesn’t always tell us what he learns from StarClan.”
Hollypaw caught his eye. Is he thinking what I’m thinking? If they were really more powerful than StarClan, Jaypaw should know what the vanishing sun meant. Lionpaw looked away.
“Perhaps he’ll share dreams with them tonight,” she mewed hopefully.
Mousefur wrapped her tail around Blossomkit. “I hope so.”
Hollypaw grabbed Bumblekit by the scruff and swung him into the air. He squeaked with surprise and churned the air with his tiny paws.
Rosekit backed away. “I’m not being carried down!”
“Oh, yes, you are!” Lionpaw scooped her up and headed out of the cave.
Her paws scuffing the ground with tiredness, Hollypaw followed him to the nursery, where Graystripe was waiting to bundle the kits inside.
“Blossomkit’s sleeping,” she told him as she passed Bumblekit over. Pain flashed from a scratch on her neck. “Mousefur said you can fetch her later.”
Graystripe nodded and disappeared into the brambles.
Cinderpaw trotted over. “Are the kits all right?”
“Lionpaw!” Leafpool called from across the clearing. “Take Foxpaw out to fetch more cobwebs.” She was smearing pulp over a cut on Honeyfern’s shoulder.
Foxpaw came bounding over at the mention of his name.
“I know where there are some really big cobwebs,” he mewed.
“There’s a hollow log just outside the entrance. It’s full of them.”
Lionpaw glanced at Brambleclaw. The ThunderClan deputy was standing below Highledge while Jaypaw pressed a sticky poultice onto a wound in his side. “Is it okay to go out?” he called. “Leafpool needs cobwebs.”
“Yes, but be careful,” Brambleclaw warned.
As Lionpaw and Foxpaw headed away, Leafpool turned to Hollypaw. “There are herbs piled beside the pool in my den,” she meowed. “Take them to Whitewing and the others.
You’ve had enough training to show them how to chew them up and lick them into their scratches.”
“I know how to do that!” Cinderpaw mewed suddenly.
Hollypaw blinked. “How? You’re not a medicine cat’s apprentice.”
Leafpool stopped wrapping cobwebs over Honeyfern’s wound. “She’s spent so long in the medicine den, she must have picked it up.” She waved Cinderpaw away. “Go with Hollypaw and help her. Just be careful of your leg.”
“I will.”
As they headed for the medicine cat den, Hollypaw noticed that Cinderpaw was hardly limping. “How’s your leg?” she asked.
“Much better,” Cinderpaw mewed. “I don’t think I could do every battle move yet, but it won’t be long till I can. The swimming helped just in time,” she added somberly.
They padded past Squirrelflight. The dark orange she-cat was sitting awkwardly at the edge of the clearing, her haunches drawn up, with one hind paw jutting out.
Hollypaw nodded a greeting, but Squirrelflight only stared dully back.
Hollypaw felt uneasy. “Has Leafpool checked you?”
“Not yet.” Squirrelflight’s mew was taut.
Something’s wrong.
Hollypaw glanced down and saw that the sand around Squirrelflight was stained dark red. Blood. “You’re hurt!”
Her tiredness forgotten, she darted to her mother’s side and sniffed at her pelt. Fresh blood was oozing from below her chest. Squirrelflight’s forepaws trembled, and she dropped into a crouch, a groan jerking from her as she moved.
Paws pattered behind Hollypaw.
“What’s wrong?” Sandstorm was pressing in beside her.
“She’s bleeding,” Hollypaw whispered, feeling her paws go numb with alarm.
Groaning again, Squirrelflight rolled onto her side, revealing her blood-soaked belly.
Sandstorm gasped. “Why hasn’t this been seen to?” She flicked Hollypaw with her tail. “Fetch Leafpool!”
Hollypaw stared at her mother. Squirrelflight was panting, her flanks fluttering unevenly.
“Now!” Sandstorm shoved Hollypaw away.
Leafpool was squatting down at the far side of the clearing, chewing herbs.
“Squirrelflight’s hurt!” Hollypaw didn’t have to say any more. Leafpool was already on her paws and racing toward the she-cat.
Hollypaw chased after her, skidding to a halt as Leafpool crouched and rolled Squirrelflight over with one paw. With her other she carefully parted the dark orange belly fur. A deep claw gash ran from Squirrelflight’s chest to the top of her hind leg. Blood was flooding from it, pooling on the sand beneath her flanks.
Hollypaw pressed her muzzle against Squirrelflight’s cheek.
“She’s hardly breathing.” Her mother’s eyes were beginning to close. “Stay awake!” Hollypaw begged. She spotted Lionpaw and Foxpaw returning with wads of cobweb hanging from their jaws. Thank StarClan! “Over here!”
Lionpaw darted to his mother’s side.
“Give me those.” Leafpool dragged the cobwebs from his mouth and began padding Squirrelflight’s wound. She beckoned Foxpaw over, taking his cobwebs too. “Go to the pool in my den,” she told him, not looking up. “Fetch soaked moss.
Quick as you can.”
Lionpaw was staring at his mother in horror.
“You too!” Leafpool growled. “Quickly!”
Lionpaw and Foxpaw darted away.
Jaypaw must have heard the commotion. He left Brambleclaw, his paws still wet with ointment, and began weaving his way through the wounded warriors.
Brambleclaw watched him go, surprise lighting his eyes, then looked past him and saw Squirrelflight. He charged around the clearing, Jaypaw’s poultice crumbling from his flank as he ran. He stopped beside Hollypaw. “What’s wrong?”
“Belly wound,” Hollypaw whispered.
“How’d it happen?”
Sandstorm shook her head. “She was fighting beside me on the shore, but I thought she was okay. She was never down for more than a moment.”
Brambleclaw crouched beside his mate. “Don’t leave me,” he begged.
Squirrelflight’s eyes flickered open at the sound of his voice, then closed again.